Showing Weakness

He was very dirty.

Sometimes, even he felt a bit disgusted.

"What's dirty? Am I not about to take you for a bath?" The man smiled nonchalantly.

Wei Dan Sheng's eyelashes trembled. He stopped resisting, deciding to comply with his wishes as much as possible.

He was obedient and clever, though his expression looked a bit sleepy. It seemed he indeed hadn't slept well last night.

Outside the bandit camp on Biao Er Mountain was a stream where everyone usually washed their faces.

His leg injury hadn't healed yet, so Xi Cui wasn't worried at all that he would run away.

She originally wanted to help him, but Wei Dan Sheng naturally did not want her assistance. Xi Cui had no choice but to give up, watching him take off his clothes to reveal his thin body, then slowly step into the stream.

The rocks beneath the stream had been worn smooth by the flowing water, with some moss clinging to them, making them wet and slippery to step on.

Stepping on a rock with his injured leg brought a piercing pain. Wei Dan Sheng's face turned pale, drained of all color from the agony.

"Do you need my help?" Xi Cui leaned forward, wanting to see his condition clearly.

Wei Dan Sheng pursed his lips, which were as thin as paper. "No need."

He didn't want anyone's help, especially in such an incredibly pathetic state.

Xi Cui did not force him.

He took off his clothes, and all the wounds on his back were exposed to the sun. Long, crisscrossing gashes and large patches of blue and purple spread across the boy's thin back, looking like butterfly wings stretching out from the flesh.

Once he stood firm, Wei Dan Sheng began to scrub the dirt from his body.

He noticed that the bandit's gaze carried an undisguised desire, sticky like a snake. Being stared at like that, amidst the relief of bathing, there was an added touch of nausea.

But at this moment, he could only pretend not to see.

As the dried pus clung to his skin, Wei Dan Sheng focused his expression, reaching out with his small hand to peel it off bit by bit. Sometimes, when he touched a wound that hadn't fully healed, he would knit his brows in pain, sucking in a breath of cold air.

He highly cherished the opportunity this guy had given him to bathe, so he washed himself with extreme care.

After washing himself clean, he wetted his messy hair and began to comb through the tangles.

Throughout the entire process, he had no intention of letting Xi Cui help.

Xi Cui saw this and knew that Wei Dan Sheng still did not trust her.

However, as he stepped ashore, he lost his footing, slipped backward, and fell into the water.

This fall happened to strike his left leg, making him groan in pain.

Xi Cui quickly jumped in to fish him out, hastily checking his leg.

Wei Dan Sheng's leg injury was already severe enough; if another accident happened to it, she wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.

"Are you alright?"

Wei Dan Sheng's lips trembled.

He felt ashamed to expose his body and wounds in front of another.

Realizing she might wound his self-esteem, Xi Cui turned her face away.

After bathing, Wei Dan Sheng looked much cleaner, his soft black hair falling over his forehead, making him look even more delicate and lovely.

Having bathed clean, his mood seemed not bad, and his face showed a bit of the innocence common to young children, no longer bearing that silent, mature look.

In his childhood he was gentle, and as he grew up, his temperament remained good. He often went down the mountain to give alms and preach, and together with the female lead Wu Huai Fei, he offered free medical consultations to the poor who couldn't afford treatment.

When she read the book, she had even backed the wrong horse, choosing the wrong male lead, foolishly shipping Wei and Fei for half the book, only for the male lead to turn out to be Gao Qian.

At that time, Xi Cui's mood had been extremely frustrated.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, Wei Dan Sheng seemed to have more chemistry with the female lead, the two of them saving lives together and receiving countless praises.

When the book reached the part where Wu Huai Fei rejected Wei Dan Sheng, the comment section was filled with readers crying and protesting the injustice.

Thinking of how Wei Dan Sheng would silently protect Wu Huai Fei for almost the entire book, acting as a backup option, Xi Cui's gaze when looking at him couldn't help but grow a bit more tender.

As if she were raising a son, she had him sit on a rock by the stream, took one of the changes of clothes he had taken off—which was barely considered clean—and dried his hair.

The childishness on Wei Dan Sheng's face quickly vanished, replaced once again by silence.

Xi Cui paused her hand wiping his hair for a moment. She felt that Wei Dan Sheng was like a snail, carefully extending his tentacles to probe his surroundings, retreating into his shell and tightly closing himself up at the slightest disturbance.

The clothes Wei Dan Sheng had taken off were both torn and dirty, no longer wearable. Since there were no clothes for a young boy on Biao Er Mountain, Xi Cui had nowhere to get him a new set. She could only toss his clothes into the stream, scrub them haphazardly, and spread them on a rock to dry.

The weather was hot, so the clothes dried quickly, meaning there was no need to worry about Wei Dan Sheng having nothing to wear back.

As for the waiting period, Wei Dan Sheng could only be inconvenienced to expose his bare body.

He hugged his legs, resting his chin on his knees, curling into a ball. His back was bent, his vertebrae seemingly protruding from his skin, looking startlingly thin.

Whether he recalled something or felt humiliated, his small, flushed face gradually grew cold under the wind, bit by bit turning pale.

Exposing his body before others did not actually make Wei Dan Sheng feel humiliated.

Appropriately showing weakness could make his situation much better.

Just like that cat he had shot dead; it also knew how to express joy in front of people to beg for some food.

He was just somewhat perplexed.

It seemed that bandit truly cared about him.

Wei Dan Sheng was somewhat dazed.

But in his heart, there was still no feeling of gratitude, not even a shred of warmth.

What he wanted to understand even more was why this bandit did such a thing.

Wei Zong Lin and the others cared for him because he bore the responsibility of reviving the clan. The maids and servants cared for him because he was the Third Young Master of the Wei family.

All care stemmed from utility.

But why did this bandit go to such great lengths to do something so unnecessary?

Wei Dan Sheng could not figure it out.

Once the clothes were dry, he put those unbearably tattered rags back on.

He had a handsome appearance; even wearing rags looked like wearing fine silk. Like a bright pearl placed in a thatched hut, he shone brilliantly throughout the room.

Xi Cui carried him back to the bandit camp.

When the two of them returned, it was already midday, just in time for lunch. A crowd of people was squeezed together, eating and drinking noisily.

Although Lu Shen had instructed her to take care of Wei Dan Sheng, her carrying him around didn't look good. Xi Cui quickly walked toward the thatched hut, wanting to drop Wei Dan Sheng back.

Before she was even halfway there, she was suddenly called back.

Turning around, Lu Shen was smiling at her.

Xi Cui completely hadn't expected Lu Shen to appear here. Given yesterday's experience, she now felt somewhat uncomfortable whenever she saw him.

"Old Six." His voice was neither fast nor slow, neither pleased nor angry. His gaze fell upon Wei Dan Sheng in her arms.